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You've dreamed of turning that hobby into a career. What could be better than getting paid for doing what you love. If it was only as easy as continuing what you're already doing except getting paid for it.

The reality is that it takes a lot more work to turn a hobby into a career. A whole other layer has to be added on top of what you're already doing. That layer is business planning and management.

Before you even start you need to consider whether your hobby can actually earn you a reasonable income? If your hobby is already earning you money then that's a great indicator of potential. If it isn't then you're going to need to find out how to make it pay. Will it pay enough to become a business or should you just keep it as a hobby?

If you can find a way of making your hobby pay the next thing to ask is are there people out there who will actually pay you to do what you do? That is, can you find a market for your hobby and is it big enough to earn a living from?

One way of finding out this kind of information is to find people who are already earning a living from what you're currently doing as a hobby. If they can do it then there is a good chance you can too. On the flip side, if you can't find anyone then maybe there is an untapped market? That's something you'll need to research. Could be there's no one doing your hobby as a business because no has yet found a way to make it pay. You could find yourself blazing a trail into the unknown. Do you want to take this much risk?

Once you've found a way to make it pay and you know there is a market for your hobby the next thing to consider is how are you going to get the business side of your hobby up and running. Do you have enough money to get started? Can you get started whilst still working your current job?

Starting up a business can be expensive. It's estimated that most business startups don't start seeing a profit until their second year. Can you afford to wait that long? Will your hobby earn enough money to cover expenses in the first year and at least break even? Do you have enough savings if your hobby doesn't break even and makes a loss?

There is a really old adage about starting a business that goes something like this "Fail to plan, plan to fail". Starting out with a business plan (and I mean a real plan written down - not just a vague, in your head, notion) is a necessity. Especially if you want to attract investors or get a loan from your bank. People will want to see the figures and you should do the

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